boss, who stole his girlfriend prior to the start of the series. Friends Ted Mosby Ted is Barney's self-proclaimed best friend and "wing man". They meet in 2001 at MacLaren's, and Barney takes it upon himself to "teach Ted how to live". While Ted is often annoyed by Barney's antics, he considers him a good friend, and in "Miracles," says that Barney is like a brother to him. Their friendship has been tested, however; in "The Goat", Ted finds out that Barney and Robin slept together and ends their friendship, and refuses to speak to him for several episodes. In the third-season finale, "Miracles", however, Ted forgives Barney after Barney severely injures himself while trying to help him. They remain an important part of each other's lives for the rest of the series, with Barney comforting Ted after he is left at the altar in "Shelter Island" and Ted teaching Barney how to be a good boyfriend to Robin in "Robin 101". Ted is the best man at Barney's wedding, and, along with the other main characters, is present for the birth of his child. Marshall Eriksen Barney meets Marshall around the same time as Ted, and takes it upon himself to give Marshall unwanted advice on picking up women. While Marshall makes fun of Barney's promiscuity and ethical lapses, however, Barney has helped him many times throughout the series. For example, Barney gets him an internship at Altrucell in "Life Among the Gorillas", keeps him from sleeping with other women in "The Scorpion and the Toad", persuades Lily to come back to him in "Bachelor Party", and gets him a job at Goliath National Bank in "The Best Burger in New York". Barney is "co-best man" with Ted at Marshall's wedding. Along with the other main characters, Marshall is present for the birth of Barney's daughter. In the episode "Slap Bet", Barney loses a bet with Marshall and agrees to let Marshall slap him five times at random occasions "throughout eternity". This is later extended to eight slaps in the episode "Disaster Averted". Marshall administers these slaps in the episodes "Slap Bet", "Stuff", "Slapsgiving", "Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap", "Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra", and "The End of the Aisle". Lily Aldrin Barney makes many unwelcome sexual advances toward Lily throughout the series, and frequently implies that Lily is secretly attracted to him, despite all evidence to the